Dhritman tries to extract magnesium from magnesium oxide using carbon. The attempt fails. What is the reason?

The attempt to extract magnesium from magnesium oxide using carbon fails because carbon is less reactive than magnesium. Magnesium is a highly reactive metal located above carbon in the reactivity series, meaning it has a stronger affinity for oxygen than carbon does. Because of this high affinity, carbon is not a strong enough reducing agent to displace magnesium from its oxide form to obtain the pure metal. Chemical reduction using carbon only works for moderately reactive metals like iron, zinc, or lead, whose bonds with oxygen are weaker than those of magnesium.